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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (834)	11/9/2003 11:34:12 PM
From: laura_bush	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 90947

"Amen," American Spirit. In the secular sense of the word. <g> lb

To: American Spirit who wrote (834)	11/10/2003 9:53:21 AM
From: Oeconomicus	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 90947

they're just radical control freaks in it for the money and power. Who knows what their real agenda is. Who are you talking about? These guys? "Howard Dean's weekend decision to forgo public campaign financing is playing as a big deal, but all this did was kick dirt on an already dying system. The men really on the cutting edge of political fund raising these days are George Soros and Harold Ickes. "Mr. Soros is the billionaire hedge-fund operator turned drug-legalization advocate and liberal political activist. Mr. Ickes is the New York lawyer who was at the center of the Clinton fund-raising scandals of 1996. Thanks to campaign-finance reform, these two men are fast becoming the Democratic Party's most important power brokers, nearly as crucial to regaining the White House as the party's Presidential nominee. Recall that McCain-Feingold, in its alleged wisdom, banned large-dollar "soft money" donations to the political parties. But only a dreamer, or the Beltway press corps, could believe this money would somehow vanish from politics. Instead it is being re-routed through new and less accountable channels. Meet the new fat cats, same as the old fat cats -- except harder to keep track of. The irony is especially rich in the case of Mr. Soros, who has long supported campaign finance reform. By helping to limit those gifts to the two parties, the billionaire has cleared a path to make himself the biggest bankroller in Democratic politics. He's already pledged $10 million to America Coming Together (ACT), a new outfit dedicated to spending an unprecedented $75 million to defeat President Bush next year. He has also reportedly chipped in $20 million to the Center for American Progress, a new liberal think-tank that is financing the likes of Bush-hating pundit Eric Alterman. ... Meanwhile, let's not forget the talented Mr. Ickes, who is attempting to raise $50 million for TV ads to attack Mr. Bush next year. This is in addition to the Soros ACT effort, which is supposed to go for a get-out-the-vote ground game in 17 key states. According to the National Journal, Mr. Ickes and ACT President Ellen Malcolm are going on joint fund-raising visits and "are collaborating and building complementary strategies." Mr. Ickes has also said he hopes to get some cash of his own from Mr. Soros. Mr. Ickes has had previous fund-raising star turns, most recently under oath before a Congressional investigating committee. The most memorable thing about the Clinton White House deputy chief of staff's testimony was his sudden lack of memory. While never charged with a crime, Mr. Ickes was called the "Svengali" of the Clinton fund-raising operation by Charles La Bella, who ran the Justice Department campaign-finance task force. Mr. La Bella recommended that Attorney General Janet Reno name a special counsel to explore in particular the Ickes role, but she refused. And now thanks to campaign-finance reform, Mr. Ickes is back in business. Except that this time his $50 million fund will be able to tap fat cats with less scrutiny than before. His donors can give as much cash as they desire. And while he will have to report contributions to the Internal Revenue Service, the disclosure patterns of these "527" fund-raising committees have been full of holes and evasions, according to the liberal Center for Public Integrity. ... WSJ, 11/10/03 online.wsj.com